The review below was contributed by Mikki Willis, founder of the Elevate Film Festival (www.elevatefilms.com).

“The first movie that had a life changing impact on me was E.T.. It was also the first time my words made it to print. I was a shy and skinny kid standing near the front of a line that wrapped a block of my little Northern California hometown when a local reporter armed with a pad and pen asked me how long I had been waiting and why. The answer I gave helped to form the headline of the next days newspaper; “The Magic of Movies.” E.T. was the first film that confirmed my young and untainted intuition that we Earthlings were not alone. That there are worlds out there, as well as worlds within that we have yet to explore. And so my journey began.

Cut to, almost thirty years later, opening day of James Cameron’s Avatar. Because I’ve heard rumors regarding Mr. Cameron’s crass style of directing, I did not expect the emotional depth and pure sensitivity that pored from every 3D frame of his latest masterpiece. Yes, the technical accomplishments are groundbreaking, but for me it was the heart and purpose of Avatar that reached me. Because my path has led to environmental and socially conscious filmmaking, the last several years of my life has been blessed in ceremony with indigenous people. While their rituals vary from circle to circle, their prayers and prophecies are astonishingly similar! Divided by continents, without ever having read a Bible, seen a television, or used any form of modern communication device, miraculously they’ve received the same information.

How is this possible? The answer to that question came during my first “plant medicine” ceremony. With help from the sacred vine known as Ayauasca, I was lovingly guided beyond the confines of my human body to unite with the spirit world. In my humble opinion, this is where the real stuff goes down! There’s a line spoken by Jake, the male lead in Avatar that goes something like this; “this other world is becoming more real to me than what I know as reality.” The more we travel to the other, or inner worlds the more we learn to see the illusionary structures that support the human dream. We begin to see and hear things that before we were too deaf and blind to perceive. To paraphrase another line from Jake: “she tells me that there’s an energy that flows through everything…”

Avatar’s female lead is Neytiri, the most powerful articulation of the Goddess-warrior to ever make it to the big screen. Period! She represents the divine feminine that resides in the heart of every woman, young and old. Even in digital form, she is the real deal! Neytiri is innocent, yet infinitely wise and intuitive, fierce, yet sensitive, and dare I say… seriously sexy!

Jake represents the new man. He is both an infant and a warrior. Despite his handicap, he is fearless and unstoppable. Though he is unaware, Jake is not dumb. He is just wise enough, secure enough, and humble enough to learn from the divine Goddess. In doing so Jake evolves from crippled soldier to Hero-warrior.

Disguised as a Hollywood blockbuster, Avatar is art imitating life to the highest and finest degree. The visual imagery, sound and script are literally encoded with ancient teachings. Though told through a fantasy tale, Avatar it is based on a true story. Our story. Regardless of where you are, or where you come from, this message is specifically for you. It is a bold invitation, perhaps even an initiation into higher and deeper experience of yourself and your world. Tears rolled from behind my designer 3D shades, as I sat paralyzed in my stadium seat, spellbound by remembrance, aware of sniffling humans around me, wondering if they too were feeling what I was feeling; Gratitude for my fellow filmmaker Mr. Cameron for rising beyond the shadows and shining so bright! Gratitude for being alive within this moment of human history! Gratitude for the privilege of standing as a warrior and a witness to the awakening of who and what we truly are!

I see you…”

Mikki Willis – PS. If inspired, please support the conscious movement by forwarding this message to the masses. Thank you!

This post was contributed by Mikki Willis, founder of the Elevate Film Festival For more information about the Elevate Film Festival please visit www.elevatefilms.com

Since launching in a yoga studio in 2005, in just three years Elevate became the largest single screen film festival in the world, hosting up to 6000 people per screening! The annual event has generated international acclaim, earning overwhelming support from Hollywood, including Kevin Costner, Jeff Goldblum, Alanis Morissette, Black Eyed Peas, India Arie, Mario Van Peebles, Derek Luke, and numerous industry icons.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 11:19 am and is filed under Guest Posts, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.